Any Christian with even a passing knowledge of Jesus’ suffering and death is well aware of the “big things” that our Savior endured as our holy Substitute.  And make no mistake about it, the big things are indeed big! 

However, there are many “little things” that occurred along the way – lesser known and lesser noted things – that carry great significance as well.  For these weeks of the Lenten season, we’ll take note of some of those lesser things that carry large significance.

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We hear about it every Lenten season in our Passion Reading on Wednesdays.  We know about it on the most basic level, but a good share of the background details are not provided. 

Matthew, Mark and Luke all record the event to varying degrees of specificity.  Of the three writers, Luke perhaps supplies the most information.

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.  Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

“Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.

He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you.  Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished.  Make preparations there.”

They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. (Luke 22:7-13)

Matthew, Mark and Luke all mention how Peter and John followed Jesus’ instructions and located their Passover accommodations.  But not one of them explains how a huge guest room … fully furnished for a large group to celebrate the Passover happened to be available!

Historical experts estimate that Jerusalem’s population during Jesus’ day was normally somewhere between 60,000 to 100,000 people.  (It’s impossible to pin down an exact number.)  However, all agree that the number during the Passover would double or even triple as scattered Jews would make the pilgrimage to the city!

While those are eye-popping numbers simply in regard to a fascination factor, the point is that any accommodations for celebrations would be extremely limited.  Much less a large room capable of hosting Jesus’ sizable retinue!  And fully furnished for the Passover Meal, no less!

Yet such a room was available.  And it was procured in remarkable fashion. Which fosters all kinds of questions. How did this come about?

Had Jesus somehow personally made arrangements for the room in advance?  Perhaps.  Yet the disciples who were almost always in his company seemed to know nothing about it.  In fact, they pointedly asked Jesus, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” (Mt. 26:17).

Did the Lord miraculously inform the owner of the house – in a vision, a dream, or an angelic appearance (all of which occurred at various times during Jesus’ life) – that the room was needed by Jesus?

Or had whomever the room was intended for found themselves unable to use it, which made it surprisingly and unexpectedly available?  And the perfect solution for Jesus and his disciples, who happened to come asking at the last minute.

Matthew, Mark and Luke don’t tell us.  Perhaps they never knew the answer.  Perhaps they did know but the Holy Spirit simply didn’t inspire them to share it.

Regardless, this leads us to this week’s “seemingly little thing with large significance.”  The disciples must have wondered where in the people-packed city of Jerusalem their group would gather.  They had no clue, but Jesus provided the solution.

“Follow the man carrying the water jar to a house, talk to the homeowner, tell him ‘the Teacher’ needs to use the guest room, and he’ll lead you to a fully furnished room.” And, wonder of wonders, that’s exactly the way it played out for Peter and John!

But then, Jesus had been providing for them wonderfully through his entire ministry. 

He provided the fishermen among them with great catches of fish after their nets had been empty all night.  He provided refreshing wine for his new disciples by transforming water at the wedding in Cana.  Several times he provided meals for them from a few fish and loaves.  (And not just for them but for thousands of others!)  He provided the cessation of a violent storm that threatened to swamp their boats and drown them at sea.  He miraculously provided the temple tax for Peter and himself through Peter catching a fish and retrieving the coin from its mouth.  He even healed Peter’s sick mother-in-law.  And after his resurrection, Jesus fed his disciples by the side of the Sea.

Most importantly of all, Jesus provided their souls with an unprecedented amount of time hearing God’s pure word spoken by God’s pure Word!  No one has ever been so richly blessed!

Of course, Jesus wasn’t done providing for his disciples.  That very night Jesus gave them yet another gift.  It was an ongoing meal of remembrance, of miraculous presence, and of forgiveness.

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:26-28).

Once again, Jesus provided for his disciples.  And not only for his immediate disciples, but for all who would follow him in the years to come.  Disciples like you and me! 

It was a gift bringing incredible and wide-ranging blessings, not the least of which is forgiveness of sins.  It was a gift bringing gifts that the disciples needed that evening and through the difficult times that followed. 

It’s a gift we still need as we struggle through life … when we long to be close to Jesus, when we crave the personal assurance that we are forgiven through Jesus, and when we desire the reminder that we are truly children of God and therefore heirs of salvation.

Then the next day Jesus provided yet another mind-boggling gift.  The Passover Lamb of God – “the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1;29) – offered himself as the ultimate Sacrifice for sinners on the altar of the cross.  By doing so, he provided the single greatest and most needed blessing for sinners of all time – full atonement for their iniquities.  And this atonement IS provided.  Jesus made that clear when he stated from the cross, “It is finished.” (Jn. 19:30).

A few days later yet another blessing was furnished by Jesus.  His body which was surely dead came back to life, and the living Savior burst out of the tomb where he had been buried.  Peter summarizes some of the gifts Jesus’ resurrection gives us:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you …” (1 Peter 1:3-4)

Jesus lives again!  Therefore we live spiritually already now, and we will live eternally one day. Which imparts upon us a “living hope!”

Jesus provides.  He always has provided for his own; he always will.

Not only spiritual blessings to lead us to heaven, but day-to-day blessings to lead us through life.  Jesus faithfully preserves his people’s well-being.  He provides for them (for us!) and he  protects them (us!).

Paul stated with confidence, “My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19). 

Indeed he has!  Indeed he does!  Indeed he will!  It’s what our Savior does; he provides for us.